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24.2 the Aztecs in the Valley of Mexico ______The Aztec Empire Arose in the Valley of Mexico, a Fertile Area Nearly Eight Thousand Feet Above Sea Level

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24.2 the Aztecs in the Valley of Mexico ______The Aztec Empire Arose in the Valley of Mexico, a Fertile Area Nearly Eight Thousand Feet Above Sea Level Name and Date: _________________________ Text: HISTORY ALIVE! The Medieval World MARK YOUR TEXT FIRST THE GIST!!! Record the GIST of these 1. Place a ! next to extremely important info (main idea). paragraphs using 10 words or less for each 2. Place ? next to paragraph that doesn’t make sense. paragraph. 3. Circle “O” any word/key terms you don’t understand. 4. Place a if you understand what you read. 24.2 The Aztecs in the Valley of Mexico __________________________________________ The Aztec Empire arose in the Valley of Mexico, a fertile area nearly eight thousand feet above sea level. By the time the Aztecs __________________________________________ arrived, in the mid-1200s C.E., the valley had been a center of civilization for more than a thousand years. Two earlier groups, in __________________________________________ particular, had built civilizations there that strongly influenced the Aztecs. __________________________________________ Civilization in the Valley of Mexico From about 100 to 650 __________________________________________ C.E., the Valley of Mexico was dominated by the Teotihuacáns (TEH -aw-tee-wah-KAHNZ). These people built an enormous __________________________________________ capital city, Teotihuacán. One of the city’s buildings, the Pyramid of the Sun, was more than two hundred feet high. __________________________________________ After Teotihuacán’s collapse around the 700s, a group from the __________________________________________ north, the Toltecs (TOHL-teks), migrated into the valley. Toltec __________________________________________ civilization reached its height in the 10th and 11th centuries. The Toltecs built a number of cities. Their capital, Tollán (toh-LAHN), __________________________________________ boasted large pyramids topped with temples. __________________________________________ During the 1100s, new groups invaded the valley. They took over Toltec cities and established new city-states. But the influence of __________________________________________ the Teotihuacáns and the Toltecs continued to be felt in the new culture that was developing in the valley. __________________________________________ The Arrival of the Aztecs Sometime around 1250 C.E., a new __________________________________________ group of people arrived in the Valley of Mexico. This nomadic band of hunter-gatherers called themselves the Mexica (meh-HEE- __________________________________________ kah). We know them today as the Aztecs. __________________________________________ The name Aztec comes from Aztlán (az-TLAN), the Mexicans’ legendary homeland. According to Aztec tradition, Aztlán was an __________________________________________ island in a lake northwest of the Valley of Mexico. The Aztecs left __________________________________________ the island around 1100 C.E. They wandered through the deserts of northern Mexico for many years before coming to the Valley of __________________________________________ Mexico. __________________________________________ When the Aztecs came to the heart of the valley, they found lakes dotted with marshy islands. Thriving city-states controlled the land __________________________________________ aroun d the lakes. The Aztecs had a difficult time establishing themselves in the valley. The people living in the city-states __________________________________________ thought the Aztecs were crude barbarians. But the Aztecs were fierce warriors, and the city-states were willing to employ them as __________________________________________ mercenaries. Name and Date: _________________________ Text: HISTORY ALIVE! The Medieval World MARK YOUR TEXT FIRST ! ? “O” THE GIST!!! Record the GIST of these paragraphs using 10 words or less for each 24.2 Continued paragraph. After they settled in the valley, the legacy of the Teotihuacáns and __________________________________________ the Toltecs began to influence the Aztecs. They made pilgrimages to the ancient ruins of Teotihuacán. They adopted Quetzalcoatl __________________________________________ (ket-sahl-koh-AHT-l), the Teotihuacáns’ feathered serpent god, as one of their own gods. __________________________________________ The Aztecs thought even more highly of the Toltecs, as rulers of a __________________________________________ golden age. Aztec rulers married into the surviving Toltec royal line. The Aztecs even began to claim the Toltecs as their own __________________________________________ ancestors. __________________________________________ In 1319, stronger groups forced the Aztecs to move away from Chapultepec (chuh-PUHL-teh-pek), a rocky hill where they had __________________________________________ made their home. The Aztecs fled to the south, where they became mercenaries for the city-state of Culhuacán. But trouble came __________________________________________ again when the Aztecs sacrificed the daughter of the Culhua chief. __________________________________________ This led to a war with the Culhuas, who drove the Aztecs onto an island in the shallow waters of Lake Texcoco. __________________________________________ It was here, the Aztecs said, that they spotted an eagle perched atop __________________________________________ a cactus with a long snake in its beak. The Aztecs took this as a sign that they should stay in this place, and set to work building the __________________________________________ city they called Tenochtitlán. The island turned out to be a good site for the Aztecs’ city. The lake provided fish and water birds for __________________________________________ food, and the island was easy to defend. Over time, the Aztecs’ new home would grow into one of the great cities of the world. __________________________________________ From Mercenaries to Empire Builders The Aztecs started __________________________________________ building Tenochtitlán in 1325 C.E. For the next 100 years, they again served as mercenaries for a powerful group called the __________________________________________ Tepanecs. Through this alliance the Aztecs gained land, trading connections, and wealth. __________________________________________ Eventua lly, however, the Aztecs rebelled against the heavy-handed __________________________________________ rule of the Tepanecs. Under the Aztec leader Itzcoatl (itz-koh- AHT -l), Tenochtitlán joined with two other city-states in what was __________________________________________ called the Triple Alliance. In 1428, the alliance fought and __________________________________________ defeat ed the Tepanecs. Together, the allies began a series of conquests that laid the foundation for the Aztec Empire. __________________________________________ As Tenochtitlán became a great power, Itzcoatl set out to reshape __________________________________________ Aztec history. He burned records that referred to his people’s humble origins. Instead, he connected the Aztecs to the __________________________________________ distinguished Toltecs. .
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